3 win Nobel medicine award for hepatitis C virus discovery
Stockholm, October 5
Americans Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice, and British scientist Michael Houghton were awarded the Nobel Price for Medicine or Physiology on Monday for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
The head of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perlmann, announced the winners in Stockholm.
The World Health Organisation estimates there are over 70 million cases of hepatitis worldwide and 400,000 deaths each year. The disease is chronic and a major cause of liver inflammation and cancer.
BREAKING NEWS:
The 2020 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.” pic.twitter.com/MDHPmbiFmS— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2020
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1,118,000), courtesy of a bequest left 124 years ago by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
The medicine prize carried particular significance this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has highlighted the importance that medical research has for societies and economies around the world.
The award is the first of six prizes being announced through October 12. The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics. —AP
For the first time in history, the Hepatitis C virus can now be cured. The 2020 Medicine Laureates’ discoveries revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/hqJK1uWX3u
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2020
